MADISON - When you’re a seasoned political pro like Ron Johnson you get good at saying one thing and doing another. But a look at Johnson’s record reveals that despite his rhetoric, he couldn’t care less about reducing the national debt.

He’s had several chances to vote for budgets that would reduce the deficit, but he’s voted against them. Instead of working on bi-partisan solutions, he gets in line with Mitch McConnell to vote for budgets that would explode the national debt while cutting programs for the middle class.

Johnson may say he cares about reducing the debt, but his record shows a different story.

As a Senator, Johnson has:

Voted for the FY 2013 Ryan budget that was estimated to add $3.1 trillion to the deficit. This budget would have protected tax breaks for oil companies and companies that shipped jobs overseas while cutting critical programs for Wisconsinites like Pell Grants, K-12 education, and Head Start.

Voted against the 2011 Budget Control Act that reduced the deficit by up to $2.4 trillion over ten years.

Voted against the 2014 Farm Bill, which would have reduced the deficit by $23 billion.

Voted against a responsible Senate budget that would have reduced the budget deficit by nearly $2 trillion.

In fact, by Johnson’s own admission, the only things he has accomplished are a failed blueprint for a budget that wasn’t even voted on, and an obscure accounting proposal that doesn’t actually do anything to reduce the debt.

“Ron Johnson can’t run from his record. Like a true politician, he says one thing but does another. Wisconsin voters are tired of Johnson’s political games. They want a Senator who gets things done not just ponders ‘blueprints’ for a future generation to consider,” said Harry Hartfield, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

MADISON - During the Government Accountability Board (GAB) meeting this week, members voted 4-2 to seek $250,000 from the Joint Committee on Finance to educate voters about Republicans' unnecessary photo ID law.

Gov. Walker and Republicans approved the law in 2011 to require certain forms of photo identification to be shown at the polls to vote, even though in-person voter fraud has proven to be virtually non-existent in Wisconsin. [1] It officially became the law this year for the February 16 spring primary and the April 5 presidential primary election.

Wisconsin failed to appropriate adequate funds to educate the public ahead of the April 5 elections, and in turn, voters in some areas waited up to three hours to cast a ballot, were confused about the necessary requirements to cast a ballot and were even turned away due to misinformation on the part of poll workers. On election night, Congressman Glenn Grothman revealed he believed that photo ID requirements gave Republicans an edge heading into the fall election. [2]

"Democrats in Wisconsin, and across the nation, believe the right to vote is sacred, and the public shouldn't have to jump hurdles just to have their voices heard," Democratic Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Kory Kozloski said on Thursday. "If photo ID is going to be the law of the land during the current election cycle, then the state has an obligation to do all it can to educate the public and ensure that everyone who is eligible to cast a ballot will be able to do so."

Get In Line, SCOTUS. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Has Been Waiting 2,296 Days For A Judge, largely because of one person, namely Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).

MADISON - If you thought Senator Johnson’s refusal to vote on the President’s Supreme Court nominee was bad, wait till you hear about the 7th Circuit. A recent report says that Johnson has held up the President’s nominee to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals his entire time in office.

The vacancy is the longest of any circuit court in the entire country.

Senator Johnson has been playing politics with the judicial system like a true insider since day one. For years, Senator Baldwin worked to find a compromise but Johnson continued to move the goal post, insisting it was his way or the high way.

Even after Senator Johnson finally found a candidate he approved of, attorney Don Schott, he has refused to put pressure on the judiciary committee to hold hearings. Schott has decades of experience, bi-partisan support and is backed by past presidents of the Wisconsin State Bar Association.

The result of Johnson’s refusal to do his job is delays for small business and everyday Wisconsinites that rely on the courts.

It’s the height of hypocrisy that Johnson is campaigning to reduce bureaucratic red tape as he personally creates more delays and backlogs. If Senator Johnson is really interested in cutting bureaucratic red tape he should start by looking in the mirror. He should stop playing Washington insider games, and confirm the President’s nominee.